THE REPUBLIC OF THE SUDAN

MINISTRY OF INVESTMENT

PHARMACEUTICAL
INDUSTRY
IN SUDAN

PHARMACEUTICAL
INDUSTRY IN THE SUDAN
October 2003
SUDAN'S COLLECTIVE
RESPOBSIBILITY FOR HEALTH
Health is one of the great favors God has bestowed upon man. It is
the mainstay of human life, for the preservation of which God, the
Exalted has assigned wide-awake guards who have as a duty to maintain
and protect people from diseases.
Believing that health comes from God who said by the tongue of
Abraham: "And when I get ill, it is He who restores my health", and
bearing in mind the words of the Messenger of God, who tells us that He
who has sent down ailments has also sent down remedies, and who
enjoins us to seek cure when we get ill; Sudan's National Strategy
attaches great importance to the pharmaceutical products industry in its
efforts to realize security in reliable health care for the whole population
by the year 2000.
THE PRESENT SITUATION OF HEALTH CARE
Health care in Sudan is well below the levels attained in other Arab
countries. This has been proved by a study of cross-references in the
health care field. Life expectancy in Sudan is 55 years, while it has
exceeded 60 in some Arab countries and 70 in others.
Sudan is one of the countries with to lowest rate of pharmaceutical
usage and is by far inferior to the minimum five dollars per capita set by
the World Health Organization. The index of infant mortality is more
revealing, as it is indicative of the level of health care in any country.
Another factor is the number of hospitals and beds per capita.
REALITY OF THE DRUGS INDUSTRY IN SUDAN
Pharmaceutical production in Sudan started in 1961 with the
establishment of the factory of the Sudanese Industries for Trade. In 1963
followed the factory of Pharmaceutic al Industries. Then comes another
factory, belonging to the American Company, Winthrop. In 1982, the
company of Sigma Tau (Sudan) was established. Now in Sudan there are
about 17 factories for medical needs, drugs, medical cotton, gauze, etc.
Here are some of them:
1. Laboratory for Pharmaceutical Industries.
2. Laboratory for Sudanese Chemical Industries.

3. The Huma Vet Factory for Drugs.

4. Amipharma Laboratories (Ltd.)
5. A. Moneim Co. for Medical Industries.
6. The Medical Gases Factory.
7. Sigma Tau Factory (Sudan).
8. The General Company for Drugs.
9. Balsam Factory for Drugs.
10. Climax Factory.
11. The Medical Products Factory.
12. The Wafra Pharma Factory.
13. Elie Pharmaceutical Group.
14. Al-Shifa Factory (destroyed).
15. Shangahi Pharmaceutical factory.
These factories deal with about 30 active elements to transform them
into modern pharmaceutical products, giving a total of 63 medical
compounds spread over a variety of medicine groups.
The designed production capacity for the various product lines
for all these factories is as follows:

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

PRODUCTLINE
Tablets
Capsules
Dry suspensions
Fluid Syrups & suspensions
Venous solutions
Ampoules
Creams & pastes
Medical gases

PRODUCTLINE CAPACITY
1500 million tabs
400 million capsules
100 million bottles
9 million bottles
4 million units
30 million ampoules
590 tons
690 tons

There is a marked lack of exploiting the production capacities of

existing factories in general. The total production does not exceed 30% of
the designed capacity. There is room for further expansion to fill the
present gap by adding new lines of production for the manufacturing of
other therapeutic groups such as eye drops and rhinal, laryngeal and
dental medicaments.
THE PROSPECTIVE PLANS
Pharmaceutical industry requires certain essentials and must
conform to the specifics of serious medicines industries because of its
direct bearing on human lives.

This industry should be developed and sustained by all means,

especially since it depends entirely on hard currencies to import its
inputs: raw materials, packaging, spare parts, etc.
The public sector in the Sudan has become aware of the problems
of the local pharmaceutical industry and has proposed a ten-year plan for
its promotion, to be implemented in stages within the framework of the
national strategy.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR INVESTMENT
1. Establishing new lines of production for tablets and capsules.
2. Manufacturing new varieties of medicaments in the existing lines
of production.
3. Manufacturing various medicine-packaging sizes, especially for
syrups.
4. Manufacturing spare parts and equipment necessary for this
industry, such as mixers and containers.
There should be a concentration on the production of: venal solutions,
creams, disposable syringes, plasters, bandages, gauze, disposable
diapers, and sanitary pads.
No doubt, the Sudanese people, like any other developing nation, are
in need of new medicines which constantly coming into the market
because, there is a continuous effort in the field of scientific research for
more effective and less toxic remedies, for usual as well as for new
diseases (including those caused by micro -organisms that are able to
develop resistance's to many medicines).